National Standards

The Obama Administration has reviewed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Changes have been made to the reporting of Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for the present. The Secretary of Education has repeatedly urged that student achievement standards be strengthened.

There is a national debate about the current standards for student assessment and evaluation. Educational standards are a major educational topic in universities, among professional educators, information technocrats and legislators. States prefer local determination and there are strong advocates for national standards.

AFSA supports the development of National Frameworks to guide states to reach uniformity and consistency with each other in designing state and local standards for student achievement and will engage in professional discussions, publications and committees to participate in and support the design of National Frameworks.

AFSA also supports such frameworks for major subject areas as well as in arts education.